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Forces (Sphere)
Forces is one of nine Spheres of magic in Mage: The Ascension. The Order of Hermes has occupied the Seat of Forces in the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions since its founding. The Shard Realm of Forces maps physically to Mars. Forces is one of the Pattern Magicks, which, along with the etheric Sphere of Prime, form the Spheres of the Elements. Even those forces defined by Technocratic science as the asbence of force (e.g. darkness, silence, stillness, cold) are forces in and of themselves to some philosophies. The Akashic Brotherhood refers Forces as the sphere of Fire, while the Order of Hermes numbers it as the Sphere of the masculine elements, Fire and Air. Regardless of the view, within the Sphere of Forces, all forces are created equal. Terminologies differ, but mages who seek to cause serious damage to their foes often study this Sphere. • Perceive Forces The mage discerns the movements of energy. By identifying their Patterns, she can prerceive all types of energy flows, sensing wavelengths far beyong the limited range of visible light and sonic frequencies upon which normal mortals rely. The mage may see anything from infrared light to x-rays to gravity waves. Even in the absence of such positive forces, some mages have learned how to perceive colours in darkness, sense stillness and hear volumes in silence. •• Control Minor Forces All the positive forces (sound, light, heat, etc.) are essentailly the same, as are the negative forces, or the absence of these forces, to use the Technocracy's definition (silence, darkness, cold, etc.). While a mage at this level of understanding cannot fundamentally change either positive or negative forces, she can exercise some degree of control over their ebb and flow. Sound and silence may be sent in different directions, allowing a mage to disguise her voice, eavesdrop at a far distance, or cloak herself in a field of silence, sending the sound of her footfalls far into the ground. Light and darkness may be bent and refracted, focused and diffused, allowing the mage to change apparent colours, displace his image, wrap himself in shadows, create a mirage or focus a torch into fine laser. Heat and cold may be shuffled about, warming one thing while chilling another, while other forces may be controlled in a similar manner, including gravity, electricity, magnetism and all manner of radiation. The amount of energy that can be controlled at this level is limited. A mage controlling electricity with this knowledge could short-circuit a car or a house, but not a block of flats or a power plant. One controlling light or darkness could black out a house, but not a city block, and a mage controlling kinetic energy might deflect a mullet or change the vector of a skateboard, but could only slow (not stop) a freight truck. The larger the force to be controlled, and the degree of that control, the more successes the spell demands. A candle flame can be made to flare with only one success, but a bonfire requires five or more, and to make a flame dance or form pictures requires even more successes. To control greater forces requires Forces 4. ••• Transmute Minor Forces •••• Control Major Forces ••••• Transmute Major Forces Category:Mage Category:Spheres